eye contact
Looking at someone
Eye contact is the act of looking directly into another person's eyes during interaction.
It signals attention, confidence, or intimacy: She made eye contact with the interviewer.
Avoiding eye contact may suggest shyness, dishonesty, or discomfort—though cultural norms vary widely.
Sustained eye contact between strangers can feel confrontational or flirtatious depending on context.
- body languageUnspoken physical expression
- glanceBrief, casual look
- pupilsStudents or eye openings
- gazeFixed, intent look
- stareProlonged fixed gaze
piercing stare · staring contest · theory of mind · avert · look away · posture · facial expression · gesture · smile · sight · microexpressions · lock · connect · intimidation · empathy · confrontation · searching · steady
- communicatingtalking, speaking, telling, sharing, expressing
- social interactiongreeting, hello, goodbye, hi, bye
- actingacting, act, performing, playacting, actor
- social skillssocial skills, conversation, sharing, helping, listening
- animal signalsbody language, bird songs, tail wagging, mating calls, whale song
- behavioral cuesbody language, facial expression, posture, gestures, tone of voice
eye contactaverted gaze
Deliberately not looking
looking away · downcast eyes · looking down · lowered gaze · sideways glance
eye contactavoidance
Deliberate keeping away
disengagement · withdrawal · aloofness · shutting out · dismissiveness
eye, contact, eyes, eyeball, eyelash, eyesight, eyed, contactless, eyelid